React JS and Angular JS are both widely used JavaScript frameworks used by web application developers. React JS is developed by Facebook while Angular JS by Google.

React was introduced prior to Angular but the performance of both the frameworks is often debated upon. So it is necessary to choose the best JS framework that fulfills our task in a better manner.

React JS Vs Angular JS

Here we provide a comparative analysis of both the frameworks that will help you to decide which one suits more for the purpose.

Structure

Angular JS has a complex and fixed structure that is based on Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) format.

MVVM facilitates a separation of development of the graphical user interface – be it via a markup language or GUI code – from development of the business logic or back-end logic (the data model). The view model of MVVM is a value converter, meaning the view model is responsible for exposing (converting) the data objects from the model in such a way that objects are easily managed and presented. In this respect, the view model is more model than view, and handles most if not all of the view’s display logic. The view model may implement a mediator pattern, organizing access to the back-end logic around the set of use cases supported by the view.

The $scope is an inbuilt object in Angular that contains app data and methods. It is accountable for the model part that is initialized by the controller and then converting into HTML to generate the user’s view. The application code in Angular JS is distributed in many files.

React JS is based on Model-view-Control (MVC) format so developers have to use other libraries like Flux and Redux to control the workflow of the web application.

Model–View–Controller (usually known as MVC) is an architectural pattern commonly used for developing user interfaces that divides an application into three interconnected parts. This is done to separate internal representations of information from the ways information is presented to and accepted from the user. The MVC design pattern decouples these major components allowing for code reuse and parallel development.

Efficiency

React JS performs better than Angular JS in the way it works with the Document Object Model (DOM). Angular JS makes modifications in the actual DOM in the browser and when the DOM gets updated, the browser has to change several internal values to show a new DOM which adversely affects the application performance.

With React, HTML is sent only for the changed element rather than sending the entire HTML to the browser which results in better performance of the application. Still, there are ways to make fast applications using Angular JS.

Angular’s MVVM is responsible for remarkably reducing the loading speed of the web pages. The asynchronous mode of communication minimizes the number of passages to the server. The virtual DOM in React facilitates easy navigation within a website because there is no need to refresh the web page for displaying all the data. Moreover, it counts for the rapid performance of React JS apps than Angular JS apps for similar size apps.

Resolving Dependencies

An object-oriented programming pattern known as dependency injection is used in Angular where the dependencies are written in a separate file.

React JS is different from than Angular JS in this regard since there is no concept of a built-in crate for dependency injection but there are ways to automatically inject dependencies in a React application by using ECMAScript​ 6 modules, Browserify, etc.

Directives and Templates

In Angular JS, directives are used to organize the code around DOM and DOM is accessible only through directives. We can also create own directives besides the standard directives of Angular JS like ng-app, and ng-bind. This is a great way to work with DOM but the syntax of making private Angular JS directives is hard to understand.

In React, there is no division into directives and templates but the template logic is written in the template itself. The JSX syntax in the template is relatively simple to grasp and everything is clearly determined.

Reuse of Code and Scalability

You can manage the app code in React as you like but there are many inbuilt elements in Angular that can be easily used to accomplish a task. So Angular JS is relatively better than React JS in the reuse of code. Angular is also easily scalable due to its perceptive design and powerful CLI. React is also more scalable than other frameworks like Vue.js.

Data Binding

The two-way data binding in Angular JS connects DOM values to model data i.e. a new value provided to the application for user interaction with the field results in updating both view and model. Moreover, it helps to write less usual code to build interactions between various components of the app. Despite this, the two-way data binding approach hampers the app performance.

The one-way binding in React JS imparts singular behavior for your app and the risk of bugs is also minimized as the execution of dependencies helps the singularity to set apart from classes. This one-way data binding helps to handle the complexity of the app and it is quite easy to test and debug the self-contained components of big React apps like big Angular JS apps.

Learning Curve

The learning curve for React is much lower than Angular. The rhetorical Angular framework provides multiple ways of solving a problem and also helps the web app developers to tune with the regular updates. React.JS comes with many useful resources and can be learned quickly if you know JavaScript but it also requires additional learning and practice of using libraries for providing the required solutions. A web app built using React requires various integrations and supporting tools.

Conclusion:

React JS is relatively easy and to learn in lesser time than Angular JS. Working with Angular will initially seem harder but once you are through with it, you will surely get advantage from its powerful and distinctive features. Both React and Angular JS are widely used and equally useful for web apps. Which suits more depends on how we use these frameworks in a project. Both these frameworks offer well-built documentation and have huge support from their communities despite their different approaches towards web app development.

Considering the points of differences between both the frameworks it is hard to clearly determine which one is better. So you should

Choose React JS if:

Dynamic content is needed to modify the view frequently.

You are comfortable with a lethargic initial phase of web app development.

Choose Angular JS if:

You require a comprehensive framework to get started quickly with app development.

You are looking for vigorous and well-maintained frameworks for projects of any size.

This means that it is better to choose React JS if you are willing to develop a simple and flexible application. On the other hand, you should use Angular JS to manage and enhance your app in an efficient way because it offers a great toolset​ to support integrated front-end development.

Author Bio: Paru Saxena, Sales head at TechIngenious – A Mobile app development company in India. Writing is my passion and I am writing from the past 5 years. I have a proven track of record in sales & business development with leading organizations.

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